


cloudburst

by redyarns



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Cultural Differences, F/M, Fluff, Luka is Sad, Luka loves Adrien and Marinette, Marinette and Adrien are sirens, Miscommunication, Misunderstandings, Pining, Podfic Welcome, a l o t of pining, a mermaid and sirens au, and lonely, from strangers to friends to lovers, like a lot, luka is a merman, species difference, think of sirens as the winged ones
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-03
Updated: 2019-09-03
Packaged: 2020-10-06 16:36:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,302
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20510132
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/redyarns/pseuds/redyarns
Summary: He hated that sad and defeated look in Adrien’s eyes as he sometimes crept onto the rock which tipped up from the sea, wings folded back and lips pursed tightly as he looked up at the stars and wished for his mother to come home. He hated the self-loathing look on Marinette’s face as she realized that yet again she had done something wrong, or the tears that sprang to her bluebelle eyes when she yelled and fought with the boy who she loved but didn’t quite know how to tell.He hated that he was here, in the sea, with a tail and two arms and hands while he ached for wings and legs and anything but to be trapped by his own home.He hated that he wasn’t there with them.Luka looked at the stars, at the moon, and he looked at the two dancing across the sky, and he wanted to say something. He wanted to say how much he adored them both, how much he wanted to kiss their tears away and touch the heavens with them, how much he wanted to fly and live and love.But he kept his mouth shut, and with a flick of his tail, he dived back down, his tears licked away gently by the sea.





	cloudburst

Luka shivered slightly when he breached the water’s surface, the cool air of the night chilling his skin rapidly and causing little bumps to appear on his flesh. His hands rubbed at them gently before the sound of laughter quickly caught his attention. He sunk deeper into the water, his tail treading steadily to keep him stable as he watched with starry eyes as two shapes appeared in the moonlight. 

“Adrien!” She choked out, laughing too hard to say anything else as she dived through the air, cheekily letting her bright red wings brush against the boy’s white ones. 

“C’mon,” he giggled. “I’m gonna get you! Better fly fast, Marinette!” 

Luka slowly drifted to a rock, clinging on to the wet and slimy surface as his eyes and head followed wherever the two flew. 

For his whole life, the sea had been all he knew. It was his first love, his first everything, the one to gently wipe his tears and the one to angrily storm and punish those whoever did its children wrong. He could remember riding its strong waves, his tail pumping to keep him steady, his absolute joy as his sister finally began courting the one she chose as a mate, and he could remember the seafoam of his grandmother as she became one with the sea. 

He also remembered when he first swam up further, leaving behind the pearls and sunken treasure and curious shipwrecks, utterly fascinated by the whole other world that was merely blocked by such an easily breakable barrier. 

When he cautiously reached his finger out, his skin met with the cold air, he nearly turned back, scared with the new sensation. But curiosity was a motivator strong enough to overcome fear, so he kept going, his finger becoming a hand, his hand into his arm, arm into shoulder, until finally he burst his top half completely out and observed the area around him with hungry eyes. 

He then saw them. Two figures dancing playfully in the sky, their giggles light and beautiful and unlike anything he’s ever seen. Their wings, so big and large and graceful, and their legs mobile and far more interesting than his boring tail. 

They could go beyond the sea, he thought to himself. The sea he loved but also the sea that trapped him. He would never be able to explore the dry earth rather than wet sand, he would never see new people and animals and plants other than seaweed and kelp. They could touch the heavens with their glorious wings, so far from the lonely merman at the tip of the sea - they had the stars at their fingertips, and he wished desperately that they’d touch his face and his lips with those hands, just so he could have a little smear of stardust on his skin. He wished he could glow like they did as they danced and played in the air, because they were lovely and flying and touching the clouds, and all he had was the water. 

Luka wanted to be up there with them, with wings of his own that could let him finally, _ finally _ kiss the moon and sing with the stars, and he wanted to be with them. He fell in love with Marinette’s wide and graceful wings, arched and beautiful and such a bold color of red that he wished he could have just a feather so he could have even a little piece of her. He loved her kindness and thoughtfulness, how she made sure not to disturb any other forms of life as she played. He loved her expressions, her cute pink lips ranging from silent ‘o’s to mischievous and wide smiles. He wished he could hold her. 

He fell in love with Adrien’s own wings, so white and pure and looking like an angel as he tugged playfully at Marinette’s hand and fluttered through the air. He wished he could kiss those black tips and spots that adorned the baby-soft feather, each and every one, so he could trace the constellations they had in them as he whispered to him how beautiful and magnificent he was, how he wasn’t broken or wrong or anything other than a boy with a beautiful heart. Luka loved that he loved Marinette, he loved his wide green eyes and his sunshine smile, and he loved his laughter, so genuine and bright and lovely. 

He loved that they loved each other but he hated a few things, too. 

He hated that sad and defeated look in Adrien’s eyes as he sometimes crept onto the rock which tipped up from the sea, wings folded back and lips pursed tightly as he looked up at the stars and wished for his mother to come home. He hated the self-loathing look on Marinette’s face as she realized that yet again she had done something wrong, or the tears that sprang to her bluebelle eyes when she yelled and fought with the boy who she loved but didn’t quite know how to tell. 

He hated that he was here, in the sea, with a tail and two arms and hands while he ached for wings and legs and anything but to be trapped by his own home. 

He hated that he wasn’t there with them. 

Luka looked at the stars, at the moon, and he looked at the two dancing across the sky, and he wanted to say something. He wanted to say how much he adored them both, how much he wanted to kiss their tears away and touch the heavens with them, how much he wanted to fly and live and love. 

But he kept his mouth shut, and with a flick of his tail, he dived back down, his tears licked away gently by the sea. 

**XxXxXxXxXxX**

“The surface is to not be touched,” his mother said primly. 

“The sirens aren’t very nice,” Rose whimpered. 

“They have deadly claws and wings as black as their sins,” Nathaneal offered. 

“I think,” Luka wondered out loud to himself as he drifted down the deep and warm waters of the ocean, his back hitting the sandy floor gently while he recalled all of the warnings and answers he had gotten from his close friends and family earlier that day. “I think the sirens are lovely. Their claws are for protection. Their wings are for flight - nothing more, nothing less.” 

He gazed lazily up at the shimmering surface of the water, beyond which he couldn’t see anything but grey. A storm was brewing. He didn’t envy those who lived beyond the water - in the ocean, everything was always calm and warm, protecting the seapeople with love and compassion. 

“Please be safe,” he whispered as he remembered those nights of breathless laughter, swooping arches through the sky, and his own hopeless ache to be right up there with them. He wouldn’t bear it, he thought to himself, if anything happened to one of them. He held them so dear to his heart, which was utterly ridiculous, considering the fact they didn’t even know he existed, much less his name or face. 

Luka sank deeper into the sand, trying to find comfort in the warm embrace while above he could see the murky sky darken even further while waves became choppier. He shifted uncomfortably when he saw an animal - he saw them plenty of times above and on water, but never below - hit the ocean and remain motionless. He could see signs of injury, its feathers ruffled and some even drifting down to be waved away by the sea’s gentle currents. 

He tensed even further when after a few seconds it continued to sink further and further. Luka only knew a few facts about the people and creatures of the above, all of said facts having come from Luka’s secret collection of books he greedily hoarded, but one crucial fact remained; they weren’t meant to be in the ocean. They weren’t born with fins and gills like he was, their skin and feathers soft and silky rather than rough like the scales that covered his body. 

Alarm shot through him, and his tail bunched up, ready to shoot off and rescue the poor thing, except he couldn’t because there were arms breaking the surface, reaching down, down, _ down, _ until a face and neck and shoulders joined said arms as they wrapped around the motionless little thing. 

Luka gaped at the golden strands that flowed so gently and freely in the water, and he gasped quietly when startled emerald eyes made contact with his. For a few moments, they were stock still, the storm forgotten and instead Luka’s chest rising and falling faster than he ever thought possible. It was him - it was him - it was _ him, _ his mind kept whispering, and Luka was about to say something, _ anything, _ until it looked like he - Adrien - _ Adrien _\- opened his own mouth. 

But then Luka remembered who and what they were, because instead of words, the beautiful siren began to choke, face going red and eyes growing wide at the lack of air. Luka tried to swim to him, save him and the little animal he held so close to his chest, but someone else beat him to it. Arms thinner than Adrien’s but certainly as strong wrapped around his chest and yanked him up, leaving Luka treading the water uncertainly while large white feathers that were streaked with black fell softly around him. 

He swallowed and slowly swam closer to the surface, knowing that the darkness of the night would keep him out of sight as he silently breached the surface and watched with awe as the two winged figures embraced each other fiercely while the rain pelted them at all sides. Luka winced, wishing he could somehow protect them from the harshness of the sky, but he couldn’t, so he breathed and waited. 

“What were you _ doing _down there?” Marinette finally croaked, pulling away to look at Adrien. Luka couldn’t help it when his breath caught - rain ran down her face, looking so eerily similar to tears that it made her look both beautiful and sad. Her wings, large and beautiful and graceful, were steady and unwavering against the winds and thundering storm surrounding them. 

“I - I don’t know,” Adrien stuttered, looking genuinely confused as he looked down at the animal he still held against his chest. To Luka’s relief, it seemed to be okay, beady eyes now open and its wings fluttering in discomfort. “I was saving this little guy. I, I guess I - Marinette - I saw - “ 

“What?” Marinette said, alarm and concern growing in her voice as she hovered closer to the boy and reached out a hand to stroke her fingers across his cheek, brushing away damp strands of blond that clung stubbornly to his skin. “You saw what, Adrien?” 

The conversation cut off here. For what reason, Luka didn’t know, but he was so desperate to hear what Adrien said that all logic and sense flew out of his head as he tried to discreetly swim closer and listen to what they were saying. In fact, he got so close that he could feel the beats of their wings, air gently blowing through the strands of his hair and making him gasp quietly. 

Finally, he tipped his head up, and fear struck through him. He knew why they had stopped talking - for they were looking at him instead, two angelic beings with eyes so colorful that they made Luka _ ache _, looks of shock and curiosity on their faces. Luka felt frozen, anchored by something as they peered at him and slowly ran their eyes all over his face and shoulders. 

He took in a shuddering breath, and just like that, the moment was broken, and Luka let out a noise of fear as he tried to back away as quickly as he could. 

“Wait!” Adrien cried out, and he made a desperate swipe at Luka, but it only served to startle him more - the wonder and awe from before had slipped out, instead replaced by fear and longing. He was so afraid. He was _ so afraid. _What if they reached out to him? What if they touched him? What if he only fell desperately in more love with them, when it already felt like his heart was being weighed down with more pressure than the deepest of trenches? 

But most importantly, he was afraid they’d _ leave. _ He’d been craving their kisses and caresses for so long, who knows how he’d survive if - _ when _ \- they leave. It was impossible, after all. A merman with a siren, _ two _ sirens no less! What would his family say? His friends? How would _ their _close ones react? What if they shunned them away, ashamed to claim someone as theirs if they declared friendship with a lonely merman? 

They could never do that - _ he _could never do that, at least to them. They deserved better than him, who had no wings or legs or could sing to the stars. They were so happy together, so in love, and even if it felt like thousands of jagged rocks dug into his chest whenever he observed them dance and play together, it also felt like he was at his most peaceful during those times. Maybe he couldn’t be with them, but at least they had each other, not without Luka’s clawed and wet hands to drench their feathers. 

So Luka fell deeper into the water, terrified when they tried to follow, and when their feet began to touch the surface, he dived back down, just in time to hear another “_wait - _“ before he shot off back towards home. 

(Maybe it was cowardly of him, but he didn’t care. Anything for them.) 

(They shouldn’t be weighed down by the ocean, by his selfishness.) 

(They shouldn’t.)   
  


**Author's Note:**

> hi,,,, please don't kill me for suddenly jumping back into the fandom and not updating my other fics alksdjal
> 
> i'll update them all! i swear it!
> 
> also the prologue is intentionally short, all other chapters will be regular word count typical of my fics
> 
> follow me on [tumblr](http://redyarns.tumblr.com/) and [twitter](https://twitter.com/redyarns_)!


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